• Real Weddings

This bride knew exactly what she wanted from her custom gown down to the wax seals on the invitations. She had been dreaming of her Cinderella moment her whole life and now that it was here, she wanted to be involved in every part of the planning, so much so that she decided to plan it herself! She collaborated with her vendors and got involved in every part of the design process and all of that hard work definitely paid off. She and her husband, Alex, had the SoCal wedding of their dreams. 

Donna worked with Netta Benshabu who designed a custom gown just for her while Donna herself designed her bridesmaids' dresses. These stunning photos by Michael Segal beautifully capture all the love and magic from their big day. You can almost feel the ocean breeze! To see all of the photos from this wedding, check out the full gallery. Keep scrolling to read more from the bride about how she designed and planned the wedding from start to finish. 

WHEN DONNA MET ALEX 

My Name is Donna Mizani and I would love to tell you all about our wedding. Alex and I were engaged in April of 2021. We met in the summer of 2019, but our worlds were always parallel. We had both recently come out of a 7-year relationship that was challenging for us and oddly enough those relationships ended at the same time. However, prior to our past relationships, Alex and I shared mutual friends but had never met before. In fact, during the summer of 2018 Alex and I had traveled to Italy to attend a wedding where he was one of the groomsmen and I had designed the bridesmaid dresses, not once ever meeting, or even making eye contact. Later we discovered that we were seated near each other and were photographed together without knowing one another. The way Alex and I met and the events leading up to us finally coming together was total fate which makes this relationship so incredibly special. 

Shortly after dating, we knew right away that we were going to get married. Alex proposed to me on a family vacation in Turks and Caicos. My engagement ring and wedding band were custom designed. Alex sourced the beautiful emerald cut engagement stone and I teamed up with jewelry designer Pinkney Gould to design a one-of-a-kind setting for both my engagement ring and band. I enjoyed the design process very much as this was my first-time designing jewelry. Pinkney worked closely with me to help create two rings that complemented my classic bold personal style.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT 

After our engagement, we started our venue search. At the time I did not know much about what I wanted, but I did know what vibe I was going for–a romantic, elegant, intimate wedding filled with my closest friends and family and that's how I started planning it. We were searching for smaller venues that offered outdoor options as well. Since we live in Southern California it was important for us to have part of our ceremony outdoors because of the perfect California weather. After a few weeks of searching for venues, we accidentally came across a venue called The Bel-Air Bay Club. Upon driving up the hill I already started to have a good feeling that was building up inside. Once we made our way down the lawn where Alex and I eventually would say "I Do" I had no idea what I was about to encounter. As soon as we turned the corner the magical views appeared all at once leaving us speechless–endless ocean views surrounded by gorgeous palm trees. The venue was screaming Southern California in its finest and truest form. We didn't even need to think twice about it, we knew right away this was our venue and so the real work began. 

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER

I immediately started dress shopping, designing the decor, creating the invitations, choosing my bridesmaids so on and so forth. Since I'm in fashion and a creative I chose to plan the wedding and develop the design myself from A to Z. I started with a color pallet that consisted of neutral colors and hints of evergreen, chose my favorite florals, and started creating the invitations. After the invitations were finalized, I used the invitation suite as my guide to help design the rest of the wedding. Throughout the wedding, you will see how everything tied back to the invitations.

SOME CUSTOM FASHION 

Another part of the wedding that I was heavily involved with was my wedding dress and bridesmaids' dresses. I discovered a boutique wedding shop in Beverly Hills. After hunting for the perfect dress, I truly could not find one that I fell in love with. However, this one shop did have some great options, but it was still not exactly what I was looking for. After choosing 2-3 dresses from one specific designer, I asked the designer if she would be willing to take elements from the various dresses that I liked to create one unique custom dress for me and she agreed. I couldn't have been happier. A dress, custom-made for me that I was able to modify to my liking was the best possible outcome I could've asked for! For my bridal accessories, I custom designed the cathedral veil and gloves. I grew up watching Cinderella and was inspired by her beautiful dress. For the bridesmaids' dresses, I searched everywhere, I was very specific and knew exactly what I wanted, but sadly nothing was out there that matched my vision. So, I decided to design it myself. Since I design clothes for a living this made the most sense. Each dress was custom fit and labeled for the bridesmaids. We chose our attire to be black-tie, Alex and his groomsmen opted for a beautiful classic tuxedo made by Hugo Boss paired with a stunning silk Tom Ford bow tie. 

A DREAM COME TRUE 

For the wedding stationery, I collaborated with the same artist that help me with the invitations. Each wedding sign was handwritten on linen fabric, menus were personalized to each guest's name and throughout all the wedding stationery you will see the detail of our Monogram in wax seal form. I was the first of my parent's children to get married. My dream was to have both my parents walk me down the aisle. This moment was the most special moment in my entire life, not just for me but for my entire family. Inside the reception, I set up most of the tables to be long, family-style tables. As I mentioned earlier it was important for me that this wedding was as intimate as possible. During the reception, we also had a Persian ceremony with a decorated table designed by my mom called the "Sofreh Aghd". The “Sofreh Aghed” is a traditional wedding ceremony spread where legal marriage and ceremonial traditions are exchanged. 

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE 

Our guest count was a little over 100, which felt so perfect. We were able to engage with our guests, live in the moment, and have a really great time. At one point in the wedding, the entire party was on the dance floor, and there were smiles on EVERYONE'S faces. The best advice I can give to a bride is if you have a vision and know what you want, take the time to get involved as much as you can during the wedding planning process. I was certainly brave to not hire a wedding planner, but I was up for the challenge, and I have no regrets. Every little detail of our wedding I was involved with, and I would not have it any other way. One of the reasons why I want to share my wedding with the world is because, in the beginning, I was overwhelmed and felt a little lost. After countless late nights, endless research, and with the help from all my vendors I was able to execute my vision. My process was very organized and for every part of the wedding and planning process I mapped it out to see how I would get from start to finish. I learned to start with what will take the longest to develop: choose your venue first, then start shopping for your dress! Designers need up to six months to make a single wedding dress. Make sure you map out the entire wedding before you even start planning it and before you map anything out make sure you are clear on what kind of experience you want and what you want your own guest to have. Once you've established those things the rest will all fall into place.

• Bridesmaid Dresses: Donna Mizani
• Couple: Donna Mizani
• Couple: Alex Swain
• Dress & Apparel: Netta Benshabu
• Wedding Photographers: Michael Segal